


Snow and Chocolate Chips

by withinmelove



Category: Hannibal (TV)
Genre: Christmas Fluff, Family Feels, Fannibal Secret Exchange, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-12-22
Updated: 2016-12-22
Packaged: 2018-09-11 01:57:53
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,066
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8949154
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/withinmelove/pseuds/withinmelove
Summary: Hannibal, Will and Abigail get snowed in the night they move into their new home. It’s the sweetest memory Will has.





	

**Author's Note:**

> As requested here's the holiday trope of getting snowed in. This is for my giftee rightandkindreverend!

“You were supposed to leave,” Will hisses, bewilderment in those precious eyes. Hannibal is undone by his genuine sorrow. A delicate _snap_ of his resolve and there will be no more bloodshed tonight. 

The knife clatters to the floor and he has Will in his arms. Hannibal can’t catch his breath, his eyes burning as he nuzzles his hair.

“We couldn’t leave without you.” 

He doesn’t want to let go of Will, but he does so that he can turn and see their daughter standing in the doorway, alive and unharmed. A sob has Will trembling and leaning heavily against him. Abigail’s face is ghostly, her eyes huge and glossy with tears as she looks at them both, unbelieving of the turn this has taken. As if he can’t handle the sight of her, Will presses his face to Hannibal’s shoulder, clutches at him sobbing for what he nearly lost, for what he has been given despite his betrayal. 

Abigail joins them, a hand rubbing Will’s back. At once, Will has his arm around her, pulling her against his side. The blood leaking from under the cupboard door has already been forgotten.

“Take us away, Hannibal.” 

He does just that. 

It isn’t until they’ve walked into the airport that Abigail states she wants to move to Finland rather than Italy. Will can’t help but blink in surprise at the request, turning to Hannibal, confused at the abrupt change. Of course, Hannibal just shrugs and nods. He would give Abigail almost anything if she asked for it. 

What is it to him to throw down money for tickets to Italy and in the next second purchase ones for Finland? Will has no doubt Hannibal’s wealthy enough that to just look at his bank account numbers would make his head swim. 

“Whatever you like Abigail, but why the sudden change of heart? I thought you were looking forward to Italy.”

She shrugs, biting the inside of her cheek and grasping Will’s hand tighter. Unsurprisingly, she’s a bit uneasy about making requests to either of them after last night. 

“I’ve got a bad feeling about Italy. Just - it feels like something bad is going to happen there.” 

Hannibal cocks his head. No doubt he feels no such thing, but he’s polite enough not to say so. Of course, that country is his old stomping ground. Little reason then for him to feel threatened in it. However ,he’s the last person besides Will to toss aside Abigail’s disquiet. If Garrett Jacob Hobbs did nothing more for his daughter, he at least had the good sense to hone her intuition to a fine point. 

So he books them another two nights in an average hotel (at Will’s behest). Abigail has her own room down the hall, while he and Hannibal stay together. 

Now here Will is once again unsure of himself. It’s odd to feel as nervous and restless in his skin as he had been before Hannibal devoured his life. Tension lurks between them, but he isn’t yet ready to address his betrayal. Despite Hannibal’s ready forgiveness, Will knows that it won’t be enough. For now, maybe, but soon he’s going to need to figure out how to show his true repentance for the grievous blow he’s dealt. 

Hannibal seems to have no such thoughts on his mind. In fact, he’s staring so boldly, Will feels like he should cover up. It’s habit for him to lash out even now to drive off what he doesn’t deserve. 

“You can look at me like that despite what I nearly did to you and Abigail?” 

This earns raised eyebrows and a tilt of the head from him. Before he can back away do _something_ to put more distance between them, Hannibal has moved close and taken hold of his hands. Heat rolls over Will in waves. This touching is the most intimate of any that has happened between them. 

“I can knowing you are truly repentant of what you did. I would have destroyed our daughter to hurt you just as much if I had not realized what it would cost us. In my obsession to bring about your new self and terror of what you’d done to me, I wanted to break you.” 

Will swallows, finding his throat seems to have shrunk to the size of a straw. Tears sting his eyes with heat. Hannibal strokes his curls away from his forehead. God, what he had nearly lost in his horror to push away his metamorphosis. They are not fixed, but it’s the beginning of reconciliation. 

The next time they are at the airport, this time for Finland, Abigail almost causes Will to become teary eyed when she again clasps his hand as they stand in line at the gate to board the plane. She offers him a tiny smile before her gaze is back to looking out the window, her earbuds ringing with tinny music. He will take whatever she is willing to give. 

The cabbie is barely able to get them to their new home; it’s almost white-out conditions with the snow. Will applauds his tenacity in getting his riders to their destination. He even turns down the offer to come inside to wait out the snow storm. 

“Be alright, sir. Best if I head home than to? end up snowed in with your family, heh. I’ve not had it happen to me yet.” 

Soon enough, Will has to admit the cabbie’s prediction is true. Even if all three of them shoveled the driveway through the night, the snow would outpace them. Abigail helpfully reports that even the weather channel is warning people to stay in their homes. It must be turning into quite the storm for even the Finnish to stay indoors. Will rubs his arms, skin prickling with the chill. Such was the speed of their moving in, no one’s turned on the furnace. 

“There’s a fireplace if you want to camp with us in the living room, Abbi-bird.” Hannibal offers. She rolls her eyes, though a smile pulls at her plush lips. “I ordered an air mattress,” he adds. Two pairs of disbelieving eyes look back at him. For his part, he merely blinks back at them.

“I know we will likely be having guests once Abigail enrolls in college.” She gives a pained look. “And I didn’t want the chance of anyone left out of a bed. In the case too that you wanted to go camping, Will, I wanted to be prepared. 

“Is there anything you didn’t plan for?” she asks. Hannibal gives a rueful smile. 

“That our movers would turn on everything but the heat.” 

“So can we start the fire now?” Abigail yawns, rubbing at her eyes with her fingertips. Will smiles with a nod, unable to help himself from drawing her into a hug. How sweet she looks. She returns the gesture, nuzzling his shoulder. Exhaustion has made her more affectionate. 

She and Hannibal go upstairs to gather the comforters and sheets from the beds. Really, who forgets to turn on the furnace in this weather? Oh well; it just means he gets to curl up with the two people he loves most. 

If Hannibal can do all this, perhaps there’s a way he could get the dogs here too. Will grins to himself. What was he saying? There’s always a way. 

The fireplace takes wood; an old-fashioned touch in this modern home. He’s thankful for it, because, knowing Hannibal, he’ll have planned even the kind of firewood needed. Sure enough, when the flame catches, a spicy pine scent soon permeates the living room. 

“It smells like Christmas,” Abigail notes as she and Hannibal return. She’s bundled herself in the comforters, using them as layered shawls. A laugh bubbles from Will’s lips as he peels the first two off to make temporary sheets for the large air mattress. The bed will fit them if they don’t mind settling in close. By this point, that question is idiotic. Will finishes up making the bed while Hannibal moves to the kitchen to make a simple dinner. The kitchen lights flick on for a few moments before they switch off. All three of them look at the hanging lamps, but they don’t come back on. Abigail moves to peek out the window, gasping when she does.

“Oh! Hannibal, Will! Look at all the snow.” She waves her hand, motioning for them to come closer. They move to either side of her, looking out to see the fast, heavy fall of snowflakes. It seems they will be camped out in the house for a few days at the rate the snow is barricading them in. He can’t say the thought bothers him too much. By tomorrow morning, they’ll have the furnace on and be settled in to wait out the fierce storm. 

“We can make snowmen if it lightens up in the morning,” Will says, earning a tender smile from Hannibal. Abigail, however, is already off to rummage through the cupboards, impatient to eat, bored with the snow.

“Abbi-bird, nothing too much. I’m making the macaroni you asked for,” Hannibal tuts at her back. 

“With hot dogs?” they both ask. This time, it’s she who laughs, and how beautiful this happiness of being together is. Hannibal wrinkles his nose, not bothering to give that a response. Well, they can see that they’re not needed. There will be plenty of time later to help with cooking, but this is Hannibal’s way of settling in. So he and Abigail retreat to the now-toasty living room, lying down on the queen-sized air mattress. She’s working a chocolate chip in her mouth, the rest of the small pile on Will’s stomach. He takes one for himself, savoring the sweet.

It’s only a few minutes later that she scoots over, moving his arm so she can rest her head on his chest. How different this could have been had Hannibal decided to exact his blood price. Abigail’s thick hair is lovely to play with, the happy sigh it coaxes from her even better. 

\--

Dinner is a quiet affair of homemade macaroni and cheese (hot dogs for him and Abigail), cold cut sandwiches, sliced pickles and chocolate milk. It’s the most unlikely meal Hannibal’s ever prepared for any of them. Really it’s what Will himself would make. However, they’re too sleepy to tease Hannibal about it, just glad for a proper meal. Once the dishes are done and dried it’s time to get into pajamas and back into bed. Abigail bundles herself in a cocoon of blankets, her earbuds once again playing music. Will reaches out and lightly strokes her face, Hannibal a warm, solid weight against his back, an arm tucked around his waist. 

How delicate the skin of her temples is, the slope of her pretty nose. It isn’t until his arm is trembling from being held aloft for a time that Will strokes her hair one more time before tucking his arm back against himself. Hannibal’s hand finds his, entwining their fingers.

“Abigail will settle into our new home and life. She loves you already.”

He hums in response. While he isn’t sure of love yet, she has been making an effort to interact. In fact, she has almost downright ignored Hannibal in favor of him. It’s nice without a doubt to get this one-on-one time, but he feels almost guilty for it. Will turns over to face him, flushing at the spark that goes down his spine when face to face like this. 

“You haven’t been as affectionate with her lately. She’s going to think you’re ignoring her. And- ” His throat turns sandpaper dry, “You haven’t touched me like this since the hotel.”

A sigh escapes when Hannibal strokes his face. God, how good this feels, the steady weight of his hand. 

“She needs her time with you, and I didn’t want to spook you asking for too much right now.” Will presses his hand over Hannibal’s where it has come to rest over his jaw. 

“I haven’t been able to stop thinking about it,” he confides in a whisper. 

“Neither have I, but let’s wait until Abigail isn’t in the bed with us,” Hannibal murmurs against his mouth. A warm laugh burbles from Will before he’s being quieted with a kiss. He’s never felt so light and air with happiness before this moment. 

He’s in love.

**Author's Note:**

> Zilia my best beta in the world. She's to thank.


End file.
